Lady Zhang
Lady Guinevere Zhang 9/14/17 Trigrams (Attributes) 16 points Hexagrams (Skills) 32 points Languages Spoken: Chinese, Swedish. Languages Read: Chinese, Swedish. Weaponry: Notable Equipment and Resources: Sidesword: This beautifully crafted 15th century sidesword has an ornate basket hilt, and a blade balanced for both cutting and thrusting techniques. It is Lady Zhang's primary sword, and sits on her hip at most times. Collapsing Buckler: This ingenious folding buckler initially just appears to be a bracer; when activated, steel strips fan out on a circle, forming a small shield. When deployed in conjunction with her sword, it grants Lady Zhang +1 to her Parry value and -1 to Attack value. Sword-Breakers: Lady Zhang keeps this matched set of parrying daggers tucked into her boots. Each of them has forked quill ions and saw-toothed blades meant for catching, binding, and breaking an attacker's weapon. As binding weapons, they negate the Attack bonus of a foe's weapon in close combat. Morning Star: A hybrid of the Chinese meteor hammer and the medieval European war flail, this flying chain and mace is one of Lady Zhang's most fearsome weapons. A spiked mace at the end of a long steel chain, this morning star is deadly on foot and on horseback. As a flexible weapon, it can be used to bind and strangle foes; as a heavy weapon, it negates the Parry bonus of a foe's weapon in close combat. For ease of carry, the chain retracts into the handle, leaving it the length of a short mace. Collapsing Poleaxe: This exotic European polearm combines spear, axe, and warhammer into a multi-purpose killing tool. It can stab, hook, smash, and even has a spike on the rear side for quick jabs. As a heavy weapon, it negates the Parry bonus of an opponent's weapon; as a Binding weapon, it negates their Attack bonus as well. As a reach weapon, it wins on ties when attacking and parrying. For ease of carrying, the the spearhead retracts and the haft telescopes in, leaving it the size of a short warhammer. Warhammer and Mace: With her morning star retracted and her poleaxe folded down, Lady Zhang is left with a pair of short, powerful bludgeons ideally suited for tearing through armor and crushing tough foes. As heavy weapons, they ignore the Parry value of their opponent's weapon. Armored Tailcoat: On most days, Lady Zhang wears a crisp white European-style military uniform, with double breasted tailcoat and polished black riding boots. Of course, said jacket is also made of cut resistant materials, and lined with a fine mesh of chainmail, causing it to act as light armor. Loving and Supportive Husband: Lady Zhang's beloved Sebastian is a gentle soul, and she strives to keep him far from the violence and bloodshed of the jianghu. ''That said, his status as a foreign royal can sometimes be used to open doors that might otherwise be closed. A student of engineering and materials science at Nanjing University, Sebastian is the creator of most of the arms and armor that Lady Zhang employs to keep him safe. Lavish Lifestyle: While Lady Zhang herself is not overly indulgent in material things, being married into Swedish Royalty has granted her quite a stipend. As such, she is able to enjoy a life of comfort, and host guests of high standing in style when need be. Horse: What is a knight without a shining white steed to ride in on? Lady Zhang's horse is named Sunrise, and it has a very well behaved disposition. Talents: '''General Inspires the Troops!' You can use your Bravado to inspire allies to action. Spend a point of Breath, and choose an ally; that ally gains a bonus to all checks made next round equal to your Bravado skill ranks. Serpent Bites the Tiger! You target the weak points in your foes armor, sliding your blade through gaps and weak points. By spending a point of Breath, you may ignore a foes armor rating with a melee attack. Trap the Sword and Shatter the Blade! You can bind a foe's weapon in combat, leaving them unarmed. Make an opposed melee roll; if successful, you may either disarm your foe, sending their weapon falling to the ground, or sunder their weapon, leaving it broken and useless. By spending a point of Breath, you may use this talent as a counter attack, disarming or sundering your foes weapon immediately after successfully parrying a melee attack. Whirlwind of a Thousand Cuts! You can engage multiple foes at swordplay simultaneously. By spending a point of Breath, you may make Area attacks in close combat. When making an Area attack, you may target any number of foes in range, and suffer a penalty to the number of coins on your Melee roll equal to the number of foes; thus, if you strike two opponents, you suffer a -2 penalty, three opponents, -3, and so on. Legendary Master Craftsman! You can create weapons and armor of exceptional quality, tailored to your body and fighting style. By spending an extra point of Resources during creation, you can make armor with one less penalty point towards movement skills, and weapons that grant an extra +1 to their Attack rating. The bonuses from this talent has been applied to Lady Zhang's armor and weapons. Valorous Bodyguard! You are a true friend and ally, willing to take a bullet for your comrades. When standing near an ally who is about to take damage, you may make a Reflex check opposed by the initial attack roll: if you are succesful, you dive in the way of the attack, taking damage instead. Stealing the Enemy's Fire! In a firefight, you can use nearby foes as human shields. Whenever targeted and missed by a ranged attack which you dodge with Reflex, you may spend a point of Breath to have the attack hit another target in the same zone. Duelist's Insight!'You can tell a person's strengths and weaknesses at a glance. By spending a point of Breath, you can get a run down of what skills and talents an NPC posseses. ' Background: You may have heard tales of white men who became the greatest martial arts masters in all of China; this is the tale of the Chinese girl who became the greatest knight in all of Europe. In her youth, Lady Zhang was merely a bandit plaguing the trade routes of western China. While she and her clan were attacking a train, her eyes fell upon a handsome golden-haired prince, and she fell instantly and madly in love. Though the attack was driven off by his royal entourage, the young woman was determined to be reunited with her prince. Traveling through harsh and dangerous lands, she crossed half the earth: through the deserts of Western China, across the frozen expanses of Russia, and finally to a reclusive kingdom called Sweden. Along the way, she collected information and rumors: the man she had seen was prince Sebastian Bernadotte, fifth son of the King of a reclusive kingdom called Sweden. He had been sent to study at a Chinese university, and was returning home. After months of journeying, she arrived at the palace. Her prince recognized her at once, for in that fated moment he had fallen madly in love with her as well. His father, the King, was at once intrigued and distrustful of this exotic stranger who openly professed her love for his son, and was allowed to stay as a guest of the royal court. In ancient tradition, a tournament was arranged – if the girl could best every comer, she would win the prince's hand in marriage. She studied the knightly arts of the Westerners – fencing, equestrian, horseback riding, etiquette – and when the day of the tournament came, none could stand against her in any field. Duly impressed, the King allowed this foreigner who had taken to their ways to marry his son. It was agreed that she would accompany him back to China, where she would protect him while he completed his education. Personality: Lady Guinevere is the ideal of a Western knight, holding to their code of chivalry. She is honest and honorable, polite and forthright, valorous and unflinching. Her adoption of this code can sometimes cause for slight quirks – such as her insistence opening doors and pulling out chairs for any men she is accompanying. Appearance: Guinevere dresses in the style of a European gentleman, with polished cavalry boots, riding trousers, and double breasted military jackets being her normal attire. She keeps herself impecably well-groomed, with her hair kept in a tight braid. She carries a sword at her hip always, hand usually resting on the hilt. Playstyle: Lady Zhang is combat/social character, focused on straightforward and open conflict. She is a master of the European martial arts, and carries an arsenal of exotic western swords and polearms with her. In conversation, she can be terrifying and and genial in equal measures, convincing others with a mailed fist and a velvet gloves. Relationships: Even though she comes from the ''jianghu, ''Lady Zhang's exotic manner can make her something of an outsider to the rest of the Mount Liang Society. She has great respect for those she's as honorable, and little respect for those she sees as devious. She and Barbarian Witch have a particularly tense relationship; one is a Chinese woman who adopted the martial arts of the West; the other is a Western woman who adopted the magical arts of China. One is forthright and honorable, the other sly and stealthy.